Justice in Action Awards

AALDEF Honors Mari Matsuda, Aasif Mandvi, and John Chou at AALDEF's 40th Anniversary Celebration in New York City

March 26, 2014 - Mari Matsuda, Professor of Law at University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show, and John G. Chou of AmerisourceBergen Corporation were honored with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) 2014 Justice in Action Awards on March 25, 2014, at AALDEF's 40th Anniversary Celebration.

Since 1987, AALDEF has presented the Justice in Action Awards to exceptional individuals for their outstanding achievements and efforts in advancing social justice.

The awards were presented by Charles Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law School professor and former Justice in Action Award honoree and Judge Ida Chen, the first Asian American female to serve as a judge in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Juju Chang, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News Nightline, and Cindy Hsu, Emmy Award-winning anchor for CBS 2, were the co-emcees for the banquet of over 800 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of AALDEF.

Among the guests at Pier Sixty in New York City were U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Karen Korematsu, the daughter of the late civil rights icon Fred Korematsu, and three of the AALDEF founders Loida Lewis, Arthur Soong, and Ira Glasser. Past Justice in Action Award recipients in attendance included Art Chong, Sandra Leung, Don Liu, Parkin Lee, and Alice Young,

For the 40th Anniversary, AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung and Board president Tommy Shi shared the story of the creation of AALDEF 40 years ago. "Our first office was on the second floor of a tenement building in New York's Chinatown," said Fung. "We were passionate about our work and believed we could change the world one case at a time."

Among the challenges ahead for the Asian American community, Fung pointed to the glass ceiling faced by many Asian Americans, the attack on affirmative action programs, the standstill of immigration reform in Congress, and the continuing struggles of human trafficking survivors and immigrant workers seeking to earn a living wage.

AALDEF client Hong-Mei Pang, now organizer of AALDEF's undocumented youth group RAISE, spoke about the lack of options she had faced prior to garnering AALDEF's legal representation and joining the movement for immigration reform. "My call to AALDEF became a turning point in my life," said Pang.

Judge Ida Chen introduced honoree John Chou by thanking AALDEF "for recognizing John Chou for advancing the status of Asian Americans all over the country." Chou said that by receiving the Justice in Action Award, he was "following in some really big footsteps." He described AALDEF as representing "lawyers at their best."

Former honoree Charles Ogletree Jr. introduced honoree Mari Matsuda as a "living legend." Matsuda shared her advice for young people seeking to stand up for their beliefs. "If you were sitting still and doing nothing, you would get no pushback," she said. "We need to do the work to make this a better, stronger country for everyone."

The evening came to a close with honoree Aasif Mandvi taking a rare break from satire to describe the impact of his hit political comedy show The Daily Show on addressing racism and bias. "What AALDEF does in a real way, I do in a very small way, by pointing out the absurdity," he said.

John G. Chou is Executive Vice President, General Counsel of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, and two-time past president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley, now the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA). Chou actively supports community organizations in Philadelphia including Asian Americans United. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey and Episcopal Community Services in Philadelphia. He has participated in numerous conferences with the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). "Chou's principles that professional success must come hand-in-hand with community responsibility make him a role model for Asian American lawyers," said Margaret Fung, Executive Director at AALDEF.

Mari J. Matsuda is a founding critical race theorist, "activist scholar," and Professor of Law at University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Matsuda is one of the founders of critical race theory and remains among its most significant voices. In 1998, Matsuda became the first tenured female Asian American law professor in the United States at the University of California at Los Angeles. Through her prolific writing in both law journals and books, Matsuda has had a lasting influence regarding how Asian Americans have fared within the legal system. She continues to work as a volunteer attorney in civil rights cases and serves as a board member in public interest organizations. "Professor Matsuda exemplifies the power of legal scholarship and activist energy that is at the heart of AALDEF's mission," said Fung.

Aasif Mandvi is an Indian American actor, comedian, and regular correspondent on the groundbreaking political satirical television show The Daily Show. Mandvi is among the most significant Asian American comedians today. In 2008, he won an Obie Award for his critically acclaimed one-man show Sakina's Restaurant. More recently, he co-wrote and starred in the movie Today's Special and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced. Through his hugely influential platform as a political comedian on The Daily Show, Mandvi has highlighted racial injustice and intolerance in post-9/11 America and has been outspoken about the stereotypes facing actors of color. "We honor Aasif Manvi's ingenious ability to share hard truths on racial intolerance with a mainstream audience," said Fung.

Since 1974, AALDEF has been protecting and promoting the civil rights of Asian Americans across the nation through litigation, advocacy, organizing, and community education. All proceeds from the 40th anniversary celebration will go directly towards supporting AALDEF's legal and educational programs in immigrant rights, economic justice for workers, voting rights and civic participation, language access to services, educational equity, housing and environmental justice, and the elimination of hate violence, police misconduct, and human trafficking.